Dropping property management

[Dan Zuperku]

I have a single family home that I used a property management to place a tenant 2 years ago.

I've decided to part ways with the PM but the tenants want to sign another year long lease. I'm in the process of writing up a new lease agreement and addendums. How should one handle the security deposit? when the tenants sign the lease agreement 2 years ago the PM gave me the security deposit, so I'm still holding on to it.

With the new lease agreement, do I need to write in the current security deposit?

Also the current tenants didn't disclose that they got a dog a few months back and didn't sign a pet agreement, with having them sign a new lease agreement I'm going to have them sign a pet agreement and put down a pet security deposit. Do most people give back the pet security deposit when the tenants leave?

would there be any concerns to use venmo for monthly payments?
Would you advise using an attorney to write up the lease agreement or are the documents available on BP good enough use?

[Casandra M.]

If the property is in Wisconsin, I suggest using wisconsinlegalblank.com for all leases and forms. 

Also to keep in mind if the property is in WI.... a deposit is just that...a deposit. It's 100% refundable and 100% illegal to retain a "default" amount, including all of it, if not due to a reason beyond normal wear and tear. For pets, we retain a deposit and also charge a monthly fee. 

The deposit for the lease that you are retaining should be carried over to the next lease if you choose to keep them, but you do have an option to up the lease. When a tenant re-ups a lease with us, we do an end-of-lease walkthrough before resigning to ensure the current deposit is enough compared to any damages that might have occurred during the course of the tenancy.